


welcome home

by clairedreems



Category: Ancient Greek Religion & Lore
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-12 03:27:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20557463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairedreems/pseuds/clairedreems
Summary: she is no longer the woman who waits.





	welcome home

**Author's Note:**

> okay so um. my friend (you can visit her profile here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mestia/profile) and i had put on faceclaims for odysseus and penelope, and i've chosen adria arjona for penelope and she's chosen 生田 斗真 (ikuta tōma) for odysseus. so. uh. there are links in the story for both an image edit/video edit if you want to see...?

here's an accompanying [image](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/606715026958712835/615587908161765379/Untitled-1.jpg) and/or [video](https://youtu.be/f5_06OyP33w) if you want to see <strike>my ugly editing skills</strike> what the actors look like!

* * *

her dreams are vivid. even more so than usual. it's herself - always trapped, always waiting - _ save me _. and he comes, always. different places, different lives. different faces, different situations. she's drowning, she's falling, she's shot and he’s there, always there; sometimes too late, sometimes too early. never at the right time.

_ save me. _

she wakes up with aching limbs and a sad, sad longing she's used to, at this point.

she looks at her phone - watches the video she already knows by heart.

he stands in front of an old, dilapidated building, holding his phone to his face. _ hey pen _ , he says. he looks okay. happy, almost. _ i did it. if everything goes well, i'm finally going back home. but, if nothing else. know this: _ there is a pause. and then: _ i love you _.

a year. gone for a year, and all she's had from him are cryptic messages, but even that had stopped for a full two months now, with the video being his last.

truth be told, her belief that he's alive is starting to wane. but the dream she'd woken up from had her feeling hopeful, yet again.

she sighs as she looks out the window, waiting, **waiting** \- but there's no one. silly her, to think otherwise.

she hears argos bark outside. it jolts her away from her reverie, and with a shake of her head. she decides to go for a walk to push the dreams in the back of her mind.

she plays with the dog, for awhile, but leaves him lazing around on the porch for her walk.

she’s gone some distance from the house when she sees him.

he's standing a few metres away from her.

"penny.”

he was hesitant. she could see that. she was hesitant too. was this a dream? was she dreaming awake now too?

"ody?" her voice cracks, full of disbelief.

standing from afar, he smiles. "i'm home."

she doesn't move. but argos does. the dog she'd left near the porch zips past her, and bounds up to his master, all happy and welcoming. he barks jovially, his tail wagging excitedly.

that's how penny realizes she wasn't dreaming - watching the dog and his master together.

she runs to ody, and he opens his arms. they fall, but they hold each other like they'd never let go. argos jumps and bounds near them, circling them, sometimes pawing at the man.

"おかえり," she mumbles near his ear. 

_ welcome home. _

he chuckles, a breathless sort of chuckle. his face is on her shoulder, and he's breathing her in.

he's real. he's real as real as **real**. it's not a dream.

"i learned japanese for you, you bastard,” she continues.

she begins crying - funny how she hasn't cried one speck when everyone was trying to convince her he wouldn't come back. but now that he's here - really, **really** here - she cries and clings to him.

he whispers back, "aqui estoy."

_ i’m here. _

he’s **home**.


End file.
